Let me first of all tonight thank our brother, your minister, for his kind words of invitation to us. We're glad to be here tonight and we do appreciate your minister in the session inviting us along to share with you and to take part in this week of anniversary meetings. And so we do appreciate that and we're glad to be here. We look to the Lord for his help and for his blessing that the Lord will draw near to us, that help will be given in the preaching of the word, and that that word will be applied to the hearts by the Spirit of God. And so we're glad to be here, we look to the Lord, we're glad to see you, glad to hear of the blessing of God upon the work here in Portlanone and how the Lord has been blessing and owning his servant here and we rejoice in that. So we're going to turn just now to God's word to read together some verses. We're reading first of all from Genesis the chapter 4. The chapter 4 of Genesis and we'll commence at verse 1 and read some verses down through that chapter. And then we'll turn to the epistle to the Hebrews, and read one verse there, and the two portions of scripture are tied together. But we're reading first of all from Genesis, the chapter four, and we're reading at the first one. And Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived, and bore Cain and Saad, "'I have gotten a man from the Lord.' "'And she again bore his brother Abel. "'And Abel was a keeper of sheep, "'but Cain was a tiller of the ground. "'And in process of time it came to pass "'that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground "'an offering unto the Lord. "'And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of the flock "'and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering, but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thy wroth, and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. We'll turn now to Hebrews. Hebrews, the chapter 11. We'll read the opening few verses of this chapter. Hebrews 11, the first one. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, for by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, and that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, in which he obtained witness that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts and by it he being dead yet speaketh. Amen. We'll end those readings there at the first four. We look to the Lord again in prayer seeking the help of the Lord and the blessing of the Lord as we would now consider the words that we have read together. We'll stand for prayer. Our God and our Father We bow before Thee. O God, we seek Thy face in prayer. We pray that Thy would be pleased, O God, to have us to know the sense of Thy nearness now, as we would be found in Thy Word. We thank Thee for the infallible Word of God. We praise Thee, Lord, that in the midst of a changing world and changing scenes of time, that we can depend upon the Word of God, this Word, Lord, that thou hast given to us, this Word which is forever settled in heaven. Now, Lord, we pray that thou would help us as we meditate upon these verses. Pray, O Lord, that help will be given in the preaching of the Word, that help will be given, O God, in the a hearing of the word. We pray that to this end that thou would close this in with thyself, that we will know that real sense that we're in the presence of the Lord, and that the Lord is here, his word is opened, and we pray, O God, for the application of that word to the hearts of each one gathered in. I pray that for the preaching of the word that thou would give to me that fresh anointing, that I might know the power of God, the Holy Ghost, and that liberty that is found in the Holy Ghost in the preaching of the word tonight. I ask, O God, that thou would give to me that clarity of mind and give to me that plainness of speaking and lead me, Lord, in the way that thou would have me to go. And I pray that this night the Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified. Help us now, Lord, we pray thee, to preach Christ. Pray, O God, that even as we have here in the church this particular verse, we preach Christ crucified. Lord, I pray tonight that that would be the theme of this subject. Oh, that Christ might be seen, that every heart and soul would be enabled to gaze upon the Savior. Lord, grant that it will be so tonight. Help me now, Lord, I pray. Oh, answer prayer to this end. Bring glory to thine own name. for we ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. This chapter 11 of Hebrews brings before us a list, a catalogue of the great worthies of faith, of men and women who were saved by faith and who lived by faith and who, according to this chapter also, they died in faith, died looking to the fulfillment and the enjoyment of the promises of God and to that heavenly country which God had promised for them. This chapter tells us something of the trials and of the troubles that they endured and of the cruelty that they suffered because of their adherence to the Lord. But this chapter 11 of Hebrews is far more than a picture gallery of the saints who lived in a bygone day. It is a portion of God's word that has deep and important doctrinal and practical teaching for us. Hebrews, this chapter 11, concerns our eternal well-being. It concerns our eternal peace, and therefore we should give these things that are recorded for us our diligent attention. These things that we read of, We've been reading tonight from Genesis 4. These matters that we will consider have been brought before us here in the Word of God. These things that are written regarding the Old Testament saints, they are written for our benefit. They are written for our learning. Romans 15, the first four, we read there, for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. And so tonight, as we turn to these verses, there's a lesson for us to learn. There's something here that we are to be taught and taught of the Lord from these particular verses. Now, we are turning our attention tonight to that man that is before us here in the first four of Hebrews and the chapter 11. We want to look tonight at Abel, the son of Adam and Eve, the brother of Cain. And you will have noticed as we read that verse 4 that he is described in this verse as being righteous. That same term is given to him in other places in the scriptures. But you will note that in reading these verses together that it was God who bore this testimony of Abel. It was God bearing testimony and witness to the fact that Abel was righteous. It wasn't something that others said about him, that his parents said about him. It wasn't just something that he thought about himself, some subjective notion that he had about himself, where he looked at himself and thought himself to be righteous. No, it is God here who is saying that Abel is a righteous man. That's the title that is given to him. Over in the New Testament in Matthew 23 and the first 35, we read there of righteous Abel. God has given to him this particular title. And people, that's important that we see that. It's not what others say about us that is most important, of course. It is good if neighbors and friends and family can honestly say things that are good about us. And it is good if in our own heart, we know that we are right with God. But people, it is important that in God's eyes, not in our eyes, not in the eyes of others, it is most important that in the eyes of God, we are righteous, we are right with God. Now, as we look at this man, Abel, I want to consider his righteousness, Abel's righteousness, And as we look at that subject, we notice here the cause of his righteousness, the reason for his righteousness, the basis, if you like, or the ground of his righteousness. Now, as we look back at this particular matter, we need to turn here to the chapter 4 of Genesis to the verses that we read together because the subject of his righteousness lies right here. We turn to the verses that we read together, the opening verses of Genesis and to an event that took place in the life of Abel. that event took place we have to say and it is in keeping even with the weekend that we have had or you've had here in the congregation the harvest thanksgiving weekend because this event that we're reading off here in genesis 4 is really it takes place at the end of the harvest in the third verse there we read And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. In the process of time, that little phrase, the process, it is at the end, if you like, at the end of time, or at the end of a particular time, at the end of a particular season. Now similar language is used in Exodus 23 and 16. It's dealing there with the feast of the harvest. And there we read the end of the year. There is the similar phrase, the process of time, the end of the year. It is a similar phrase that is used here. We read the end of the year when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field. And so we have an incident here. We have an event that took place and it took place at the end of the harvest when the harvest had been gathered in. And these two brothers now come to the place of worship with their offerings to the Lord. We can see from our Bible readings that God accepted Abel's offering but he did not accept Cain's offering. With regard to Abel's offering God pronounced that he was righteous. Now let us just be clear about this tonight. The necessity of righteousness in order to enter into heaven. Matthew 5 and the verse 20 there we read that Christ said, except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. None will enter into heaven save those that are righteous. When he talks about the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, he's talking there about that self-righteousness that they had. talking about their own reputations and that was insufficient. That wasn't enough. God is saying here that there is another righteousness. He's talking here about that perfect righteousness. He's talking here about that perfect standing that a man has with God when God regards him as being righteous, that he is perfectly righteous with God. God, of course, is perfectly, perfectly righteous. And so we're talking here about a man who has perfect righteousness. not a mere formality, not a righteousness which is based upon his own works, upon his own merits. We're talking here about a righteousness that is required for heaven. Dear soul tonight, at the very commencement of this, let us be clear that unless God regards you as a righteous person, unless you have righteousness, you will in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. And so here we find these two brothers. They're brought up in the same home, they have the same parents, they're brought up in the same environment, but one is righteous, he is right with God, and the other is not. One is ready for heaven, and the other is not. Now, what then is the cause? What is the ground of Abel's rightness with God? We'll go back again into Hebrews in the chapter 11 and to that verse 4. We read there, by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice. Two things are mentioned here, his faith and his sacrifice. Now we know that the Bible teaches plainly throughout the scriptures that man, the sinner, is saved by faith. By grace are you saved through faith. But people, faith needs an object to look upon. Faith needs an object to grasp. And Abel's faith, it was not in himself, Abel's faith was not in his own marriage, not in his family connection, not in his own works, but rather we can see here his faith looked away, away from himself, away from everything else, and his faith looked to the sacrifice. So we have these two terms before us here, we have his faith and we have the sacrifice. What was his sacrifice? It was the firstlings of the flock, The lambs were sacrificed. It was the sacrificed lamb that Abel was looking to. It was it that Abel was taking hold of. And right here, people, we have the glorious gospel message in all of its fullness, because that lamb that he offered, the sacrificial lamb, it points to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. When we look at that chapter again, that chapter four of Genesis, we can see some terms here that are used. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of the flock, and of the fat thereof. And so we have the firstlings of the flock, or if you like, the lambs. And then we have a wee term here that is used, and of the fat thereof. Now, it could well be speaking of the literal fat that was on the lamb. But the word that is used here, it is a Hebrew word that brings before us the sense of the best, of the finest. And in fact, that word fat that is used there, it is translated in other parts of the Old Testament by the word best and by the word finest. And so what we have here is Cain is able bringing as an offering onto the Lord the very best of the flock, looking through the lambs and looking for the very best of the lambs, the finest lamb that he could find. He wasn't going to offer onto the Lord something that was weakly or something that was sick. He was looking for the very best lamb. And when he looked upon that offering there, upon the altar, he looked upon the sacrifice, he saw the very best lamb, the finest lamb that he had. The Lord Jesus Christ is the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. But people, the Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect lamb, the best, the finest, there is none like unto him. He is the sinless Lamb of God. And so, when he was looking upon this Lamb, he was looking beyond it to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, perfect in all things. In that verse there in Hebrews 11, it talks there about the a sacrifice, a more excellent sacrifice. And the word that is used there for sacrifice is the word slaughtered, sacrifice. It brings before us the fact that the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, was slaughtered, that he was slain, brings it to the cross of Calvary. The term slaughtered will indicate something of the pain, of the agony, of the suffering of the lamb that was to be sacrificed, of the bloodshedding and of course the terms that are used here brings us to the Lord Jesus Christ, to his sacrificial work and it shows to us the sinless lamb of God in his pain, his agony, his suffering, his bloodshedding on the cross of Calvary. the sacrificial lamb slain on Calvary as the God provided sacrifice, the God provided sinless sacrifice to pay the price, the penalty of the sinner's sin and thus turn the wrath of God away from those who repent of their sin and by faith receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Able by faith looked upon, embraced, took hold of the sacrifice, the very best. Dear friend, there's the gospel message and the necessity for sinners to look away from all else and look away to the Lord Jesus Christ and his sacrificial, his atoning work. Now Abel, no doubt, had been told and taught this message of how to approach God, of how he would be accepted by the Lord. We know that he was taught these things. We know that he heard the gospel message. We know that by the fact that mention is made of his faith, He offered the sacrifice unto God. It was by faith. Now the Bible tells us, of course, in Romans 10 and 17, that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So Abel heard the word of God. He was taught the mind of God on this particular matter. No doubt he was taught it by his parents. No doubt he was taught it by Adam and Eve. If we were to take time, and we haven't time, To go back to the third chapter of Genesis, we would find there that gospel chapter. We would see there that gospel sermon that was preached by God to Adam and to Eve. What a message is found there concerning the gospel. chose their man to be a sinner, and how sin separates from God. Adam and Eve, in their sin, became separated from God, no longer had fellowship, no longer had friendship with God. Before they were walking with God in the cool of the day, and they sinned and they lost that fellowship. Sin, my friend, separates from God. And the Bible tells us that we're all sinners. for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." People, in this we are partakers of Adam's fallen nature and of Adam's sin. That portion of scripture, that sermon that was preached at that particular time, It also showed that in order for a sinner to be right with God, accepted with God, he needs to have his sin dealt with. He needs a covering for sin. Adam and Eve had sinned and they needed a covering for sin. They needed to have their sin dealt with. It also shows us here that man's effort to cover his own guilt, Man's effort to cover his own sin is altogether worthless because Adam and Eve, they tried to do that and they sowed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness, we are told. But when God came into the garden and he called for Adam and said, Adam, where art thou? Adam said, I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid and I hid myself. He hid himself in the bushes. Why? He said, because I was naked. God saw the nakedness of Adam. The covering of fig leaves, the efforts, the work that they went to was of no benefit. And Adam acknowledged that for he said, I was afraid because I was naked. He knew his own nakedness when he stood before God. And my dear friend, if you die in your sin and you stand before God, you'll know and acknowledge your own nakedness as far as your covering for sin is concerned. Maybe you've been trying by your own good works to appease the Lord, to satisfy God, to work an entrance into heaven. It's insufficient. God provided an offering or God provided a covering. Adam couldn't do it for himself, but God in mercy and grace and love provided a covering for Adam and his sin. That covering, of course, pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ because it entailed the slaying of innocent animals, their blood shedding, their pain, their agony, their suffering in order for the skins to be removed and God himself did this work. God provided the covering and God took the skins of the slaughtered animals and he made a covering for Adam and for Eve. And dear men and women and young people in the meeting tonight, here is that matter that is pointing again to the Lord Jesus Christ and his atoning work, the sacrifice of himself, his blood shedding. This is the message that Abel heard. He heard that there is salvation, a covering for sin, to be found only in the Lord and by means of the sacrifice that God himself did provide. So in offering up the lamb as a sacrifice, Abel looked, as it were, beyond that to what it pointed to, what it spoke of. It spoke of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. And dear people, that's the object we want you to look upon tonight, Christ and his cross work. This is the subject of the scriptures from beginning to end. I know that tonight you might look away to Christ on the cross, that you might see a sacrifice. that you might realize something of his pain and agony, the price that he paid in order to save sinners like you and me. Men and women, focus on Christ tonight. Forget about the preacher, forget about mannerisms, forget about grammar, look to Christ. This is what Abel did. Abel recognized that he was a sinner. and could only approach God and be accepted by God on the basis of the sacrifice of the Lamb, the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. People, that's the gospel teaching. That's the gospel teaching that there on the cross, Christ bore our sins in his own body on the tree. He paid the penalty of our sin and thus he turns the wrath of God away from those who will have him to be their saviour. Here is the subject then that lies before us, righteousness. is by faith in Christ, by faith in Christ. Romans 3 and 22. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, or if you like, faith in Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe. Righteousness, the righteousness of God, is the clothing, the covering that we need. It is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ unto all that call upon him," or all that believe. Abel was righteous. God looked upon him. God said that he was righteous. Why? Because he looked away from his own works, and he looked to the sacrifice that pointed to Christ. He put his dependence, his trust, in the atoning work of the Savior. Now Cain had no such faith. Yes, he heard the same account from his parents, no doubt, but he rejected it. Instead, he offered to God of his own works. He offered to God the fruit of his own hands, and God did not accept that. Cain's offering was a faithless offering. It was a bloodless offering. Bible tells us that without the blood of Christ, my friend, there is no remission, no cleansing. Without shedding of blood, There is no remission, we read in Hebrews in the chapter 9 and 22. In 1 John 1, we read there in the first seven, the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, God's son, cleanses us from all sin. Cain knew nothing of the righteousness of God. He was rejected by the Lord because he was depending on his own works. And God said, that is insufficient. Cain wasn't an atheist. He believed in the existence of God. Cain, he had some religion, because he came to the place of worship, but he was not right with God. He wasn't right with God. Look at what it says there in Genesis 3 and the first four, and these verses again, or Genesis 4 and the first seven, rather. We see him here in these verses. And it says, the Lord is saying to Cain, if thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. Doing well, it's doing what the Lord has commanded. It is walking in the path that God has instructed. And he's saying here to Cain, if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. Cain would not accept the plan of God's salvation. He didn't do well. God said, Cain, sin lieth at the door. Sin lieth at the door. It's the picture, my friend, that is painted here, the picture of a roaring lion. A roaring lion which is about to destroy its prey. This word sin here is in other places translated by the term the punishment of sin. The punishment of sin lies at the door. Oh people get what it says here. Your sin is near to you. Perhaps you don't know all of your sins and you can't recall them all. but sin is ready to be revealed to you. Sin lieth at the door, it is near to you and it is ready to condemn you. Your punishment of sin lieth at the door. Eternal punishment, eternal damnation, eternal hell lieth at the door. Here's the lesson people, here's the difference. Cain refused the message of salvation. And God said, sin lies at the door, about to be revealed to you. Sins that you've long forgotten about. They will be revealed to you. They will condemn you. And you will be condemned to the punishment, to the punishment of your sin. Cain was unsaved, but Abel was right. with God. God had pronounced him that he was right with God because he put his trust in the Lamb of God. Let us just take a few moments to look at the consequences of his righteousness. The consequences, the result, what flowed from his righteousness. He was accepted by God. What does it mean? Look at the first seven there. The message to Cain is, if thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted the person who does well in the eyes of god that is the person who follows the teaching that the lord has laid before him with regard to salvation the person who is trusting in christ for salvation that's what it means to be doing well well in the eyes of god they shall be accepted now god accepted the sacrifice that Abel made. But I want to draw your attention to that word accepted there. Because that same Hebrew word is translated by other English words. It is translated by the verb to forgive. It is translated by the verb to pardon. So that when we're reading here of God's acceptance of Abel, we're reading here about God forgiving. The sin of Abel. God gave to Abel a pardon for his sin. That is how the word is translated in other places. His sin was forgiven. His sin was pardoned by God. Christ had paid the price. He had paid the penalty for him. And therefore, on the basis of that, he received forgiveness for his sin. This is a teaching that is set before us in the Shorter Catechism. The catechism I think is number 33 and justification. What is justification? Justification is an act of God's free grace wherein he pardoneth, there's the word, he pardoneth all our sins and accepted us as righteous in his sight. These are the words that are being used. Only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by grace alone. The Shorter Catechism follows all of these words, uses the words. Forgiveness, pardon on the basis of the righteousness of Christ being reckoned to be ours. That's what's found here, people. Adam put his trust, or Abel put his trust, put his faith in the sacrificial work of Christ for acceptance with God, looking to the sacrifice of Christ and the cross of Calvary, and God forgave him, and God pardoned him. Dear Unsaved tonight, do you not feel your need of forgiveness of sin? Do you not feel your guilt? Do you not feel your sin? All of sin, the Bible says. Can you not feel it tonight? Do you not feel the burden of your sin, the multitude of your sin? It's like a mountain. Do you not feel the violence of your sin, how filthy and unclean it is in the eyes of the Lord? Do you not see the danger of your sin, the danger that your sin is going to bring to you, the damnation, the hell that lies before you? Dear people, you need forgiveness. Here's a man. He was right with God. His sin was forgiven. He had peace with God. Here's a man who had the assurance of heaven. He died with the assurance of heaven. What blessing there is for the righteous. When we go to that chapter 11, we see here in these verses, The first 13, for example, that they died in faith. Oh, these all died in faith, able among them. They had their trust in Christ. He had embraced the promises of God. In the first 14, we read that they were going to that country, that better country it is described, that heavenly country, that's how it is described. The first 14, for example, we read the word country there. For they that have such things declare plainly that they seek a country. Let me tell you that word country that is used there. That word country is the Greek word which means fatherland. It is the land, the place where the father is. Literally, that's the rendering of it. It's home. It's to be at home with the Lord. And so righteous, able, who looked to the sacrifice of Christ, embraced Christ as a savior, had his sins forgiven, had peace with God, and died in the sure and certain hope of being found in the glory land of heaven, in the Father's land. Isn't it so? Even in the New Testament, it speaks of the Father's house, the mansions that the believers are bound for. Why? Because they have the righteousness of God in Christ. That's how important it is to be right with God. There's the difference. Abel died right with God, sure of going to eternity, spend eternity in the heavenly land, in his father's land, at home with the Lord. What a joy, what a blessing it is. Cain died without faith, died without looking to Christ. That's the difference. People, how will it be with you? We haven't time to deal with any more tonight. We can't look at the communications that we have, righteous, able communication. We read in that verse there that he still speaketh. That is the term that is used there. He being dead yet speaketh. That is his life, his righteous life, his testimony. It has a message for us. A message for us today, what does it say? What is that speaking voice saying to us? What is his life telling us? What is his testimony indicating to us? Whenever the story, the account of Abel is told, it says, sinner, Christ alone saves. It says there is no hope in your own works of merit. It says that only Christ's blood cleanses us from sin. It says that only Christ's sacrifice, his sacrificial work satisfies God on your behalf. It points to Christ. Dear soul, you need Christ. at this week of special meetings, at this Monday night meeting of this week, let me tell you, my friend, you need Christ. You can't die without Christ and go to heaven. You need the robe of Christ's righteousness to be applied to you. You need that perfect righteousness to stand before God. And oh, that tonight you might look away from all else your own goodness, good as it may be, lovely and lovely as it might be, it's not sufficient for heaven because it doesn't deal with your sin. Only the sacrifice of Christ satisfies God on the behalf of the sinner who will trust Christ. Will you trust him tonight? Will you look to him tonight? Look away from all else. Will you look to Christ? Will you say, Lord, I am a sinner, and there's nothing in me that is worth anything as far as my salvation is concerned. Lord, I'm looking to Christ. Would you call upon the Lord tonight to save you? The promise of God is that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. May it be so tonight with your own soul. Let's bow in prayer. It should be that the Lord has spoken to you, that there is a desire in your heart to be right with God, and don't hurry away from the meeting. I wait behind, speak to the Reverend Stewart or myself. We'd love to see you coming to Christ, so don't hurry away. It's important you need Christ. Get it dealt with tonight. Our God and our Father, we do thank thee and praise thee for mercy and for grace. We thank thee, Lord, for all that is found in Christ. We praise thee for forgiveness of sin, for a rightness with God, for peace with God, for a readiness for heaven, that we can look forward, Lord, to being in the Fatherland, in our Father's land, at home with the Lord. that we can look forward to the heavenly mansions. Lord, we pray that for those tonight who are unsaved, that thou would open their hearts, open their understanding, open their eyes, that they might see themselves as they are in God's eyes, and that they might look away to Christ. and receive him by faith. Lord, save the unsaved, restore the backslider, bless thine own blood-bought people. We pray, Lord, that thou would dismiss us now with the blessing of the triune God, for we ask it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen and amen.